VIDEO: IYRS summer gala reports record fundraising

A record crowd sits down to a Tuscan-style dinner by MAX Ultimate Food of Boston. Photo credit: Jack Renner

Last Saturday, 650 supporters gathered for the International Yacht Restoration School’s annual Summer Gala in the port city of Newport, R.I.

Gala-goers enjoyed cocktails and dinner and a live performance by Lyle Lovett & His Band.

“Thank you for having the band and me. We had a great time with you all,” the Grammy-winning country/jazz performer tweeted afterward.

Sponsorship support, table sales, three auctions (live, collector’s, and reverse auction) raised more than $200,000, which put the school in record territory for its annual fund-raiser. The IYRS raised slightly more than $1 million gross — up about $100,000 from last year.

“IYRS is building support as it experiences growing enrollment and continued extraordinary student outcomes,” IYRS president Terry Nathan said in a statement. “More than 90 percent of our graduates were employed on or about the time they completed their programs this past year. At a time when conversation in America is about training more people to make and build things, an IYRS education is preparing people for lifelong careers of working and thinking through their hands and through the use of technology.”